Sunday, January 2, 2011

Image via WikipediaI've been an outlaw since my education career started in 1995. That means I don't quite fit into the system even if I am a part of it. Often I feel a need to work at cross-purposes with the administration. I'm getting tired of it really. I would much rather work in a healthy team-oriented environment where we talk about provoking student learning, rather than dragging students over the finish line of passing the state test and getting them to comply with policies.

Barry Schwartz provides the basis for my New Year's resolution, which is to be more of a "system changer" rather than an outlaw. He points out that outlaws eventually tire of fighting and that the world can't rely on them for change. What we need are more "system changers." These are the ones that actively work to change the culture of their work. I still don't know how to do this in practice, but I think it means starting the discussion with colleagues and administrators. Let the emphasis be on learning strategies. Roll the video